Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Back to School
My daughter started junior high today and my son started high school. I'm so proud of each of them. Since this is such a significant event in our family's history, I felt like it was a good opportunity to talk about what's important. I sat down yesterday and came up with this list of things that I would like for the kids to remember this year at school, and hopefully for the rest of their lives:
Do your best and then leave it in God’s hands. You can only do so much. Whatever the task, do your best and then don’t fret over it.
Tell me who you run with and I’ll tell you what you are. Choose your friends carefully. Surround yourself with positive, happy people that are helpful to you. Ben Franklin: “Be slow in choosing a friend; slower in changing them.”
Make good decisions. As you get older, the decisions start to mean more. Take time to think and don’t be afraid to ask for help. We don’t know all the answers but we’ve made a lot of mistakes that might be helpful to you.
Do things for the right reasons. Don’t do things because you want to please someone or get them to like you. The fastest way to misery and failure is trying to please everyone. Do things because they reflect who you are – an amazing, unique child of God.
Be gracious and positive. Don’t be critical – look for the good in every situation and person. You will be happier and will attract people that encourage you and give you life. Always be looking for some way to be helpful to others. It is better to be happy than right.
Open mind and open heart. When dealing with people, don’t be quick to judge - you haven’t walked in their shoes. God may have put you with someone to help them at a specific moment.
When you lose, don’t lose the lesson. When bad things happen, take a moment to learn from them.
Make it a habit to enjoy the moment. Depression comes when we fret about the past or worry about the future. Don’t get caught up in the busy-ness of everything and miss it. Enjoy each moment – take in the sights, the sounds, the smells.
Make room in your life for beauty. Music, art, dance – whatever relaxes and inspires you. It is NOT a waste of time. Making this a priority will benefit you in everything else you do.
Emphasize simplicity. Henry David Thoreau: “As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler”. Don’t be afraid to say “no” to things. Life is hard enough without further complicating it. Eliminate physical clutter, eliminate emotional clutter, and eliminate spiritual clutter. Things block our view of God.
Get organized. Different methods work for different people, but find something that works for you and stick with it. WRITE IT DOWN.
You can always come home. No matter how bad you think you may have screwed up, you can always call us or come home. We love you and nothing will ever change that.
Thoughts on Beginning a New School Year
In life, you can either be happy or unhappy – choose happy.
Do your best and then leave it in God’s hands. You can only do so much. Whatever the task, do your best and then don’t fret over it.
Tell me who you run with and I’ll tell you what you are. Choose your friends carefully. Surround yourself with positive, happy people that are helpful to you. Ben Franklin: “Be slow in choosing a friend; slower in changing them.”
Make good decisions. As you get older, the decisions start to mean more. Take time to think and don’t be afraid to ask for help. We don’t know all the answers but we’ve made a lot of mistakes that might be helpful to you.
Do things for the right reasons. Don’t do things because you want to please someone or get them to like you. The fastest way to misery and failure is trying to please everyone. Do things because they reflect who you are – an amazing, unique child of God.
Be gracious and positive. Don’t be critical – look for the good in every situation and person. You will be happier and will attract people that encourage you and give you life. Always be looking for some way to be helpful to others. It is better to be happy than right.
Open mind and open heart. When dealing with people, don’t be quick to judge - you haven’t walked in their shoes. God may have put you with someone to help them at a specific moment.
When you lose, don’t lose the lesson. When bad things happen, take a moment to learn from them.
Make it a habit to enjoy the moment. Depression comes when we fret about the past or worry about the future. Don’t get caught up in the busy-ness of everything and miss it. Enjoy each moment – take in the sights, the sounds, the smells.
Make room in your life for beauty. Music, art, dance – whatever relaxes and inspires you. It is NOT a waste of time. Making this a priority will benefit you in everything else you do.
Emphasize simplicity. Henry David Thoreau: “As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler”. Don’t be afraid to say “no” to things. Life is hard enough without further complicating it. Eliminate physical clutter, eliminate emotional clutter, and eliminate spiritual clutter. Things block our view of God.
Get organized. Different methods work for different people, but find something that works for you and stick with it. WRITE IT DOWN.
You can always come home. No matter how bad you think you may have screwed up, you can always call us or come home. We love you and nothing will ever change that.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Fred Rogers
Mr. Rogers was an amazing person. My therapist once told me that by watching Mr. Rogers you could learn how to be a perfect father...
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The Triumphant Return of Ventriloquism?
News item:
Area man wins national talent show.
I don't know anything about this show. Don't know anything about Mr. Fator, the winner. Seems like a nice enough guy.
But I was struck by his quote.
"To know that I could be the person who brings ventriloquism back into the mainstream would give me so much joy."
Guess a mime might say the same thing.
I gotta tell you, the prospect of pantomime or ventriloquism in the mainstream doesn't exactly warm my heart.
That's not to say ventriloquism wouldn't be a blast at parties, traffic court, and the dentist.
In fact, I may someday take a correspondence course in ventriloquism. Maybe after the kids move out. Yeah, that's it. In the twilight of my life, I'll shuffle out to our garage workshop, carve me a dummy, and work on throwing my voice while drinking a glass of water.
For me, the best thing about ventriloquism is saying the word. Ventriloquism. It's a funny word, a dynamite punchline.
Not exactly a compelling reason to go prime time. It'd be OK with me to contain those creepy looking puppets to the realms of themed birthday parties, late-nite reruns of The Gong Show, and tourist-choked San Francisco street corners.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Crying Music
Do any songs move you to tears?
Not like tears of pure pain that might be shed during Muskrat Love or Whoomp! There It Is.
But tears resulting from powerful emotions triggered by the richness, the complexity, the sheer beauty of the music – and often powered by the memories the music evokes.
I can only think of a handful of songs that have that impact on me.
Point of clarification: These songs don’t make me weepy when I hear them while driving or at the gym (although, admittedly, that last scenario would be more than slightly awkward -- and pretty funny).
But when the circumstances are “right,” when the emotional triggers are in place, the following songs resonate very deeply with me – and have moved me to tears.
Red Sea by Asobi Seksu
Beautiful soaring vocals explode in a fuzzed out, reverb bliss at the song’s halfway mark. The transition between the two is the emotional high point for me. And as I was returning from my grandfather’s funeral last month, sitting on the plane with my iPod, I was thoroughly swept up in that moment – and in the sonic wall of sound that follows (for a glorious three and a half minutes). The tears that silently flowed were of utter joy and remembrance.
Lower Your Eyelids To Die With The Sun by M83
A sweeping, cinematic-style, 11-minute instrumental epic.
A Kissed Out Red Floatboat and Cico Buff by Cocteau Twins
The inimitable melodies of the Cocteau Twins strike a deep chord with me.
When Peace Like A River
The most beautiful, anguished, and hopeful hymn I know.
Those are the songs that move me.
So . . . what songs move you?
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